<p>YES! This is indeed another chance thread! …I’m a rising senior from rural PA, hoping for someone to help me figure out if I even have a chance. Brown will be one of my top choices this fall, but I’m not really sure if I have a good shot at getting in. I’d love to hear chances from parents and accepted students especially!</p>
<p>The basics:</p>
<p>I’m a white male from a middle class family.</p>
<p>Academics:
- I’ve been ranked 1st in my class Freshman thru Junior year. I’m 95% sure I’ll be our valedictorian. (Class size is 137)
*Weighted GPA is a 4.4862 on a 4.33 scale (not sure of unweighted and don’t feel like calculating it by hand)
*ACT composite = 35
Reading= 36
Math= 34
Writing= 35
Science= 34
*SAT composite = 2280 (No SAT IIs yet, I’m taking biology and maybe Math I or II in October)
Writing = 780
Math= 740
Reading = 760
- APs = Sophomore year, US history (scored a 5); Junior year, World History (5) and Calc AB (5); Senior year, scheduled to have Gov and Politics, Lit and Comp, Calc BC. (Only two other APs are offered at my school, Art history and Music Theory)
- Some other notable classes: Honors Biology, Honors Trig, four years of Spanish
- This fall I will be taking an Environmental Science class at Lehigh University (not a community college; its a pretty respectable school)</p>
<p>Extra Curriculars:
- Juggling Club (President Jun and Sen years)
- Debate Club ( secretary Jun yr, President Sen year)
- Mock trial team (attorney Soph and Jun yrs)
- Student Representative to School Board
- Writer for a teens section of local newspaper
- Eco- Action Club
- Power (Weight-training) Club (treasurer Sophomore and Jun yrs)
- 4 year member of Marching, Concert, and Jazz Bands (Playing saxophone; soloist in Jazz band and treasurer of band council)
- Employed by County Parks and Rec. Dept (Soph thru Sen years; ~35 hrs per week in summer, less during school)
- about 100 hours of volunteer service including counselor for 5th grade environmental camp, sea turtle conservation in Costa Rica, work at a State Park, and local independent film festival
- I’m hoping to volunteer for the Green Party in the months leading up to the next election</p>
<p>Awards and whatnot:
*Member of NHS
*Based on past years will almost definitely be a National Merit Semifinalist
*Rensselaer Medal Award for outstanding academic achievement in the study of mathematics and science (plus 15,000 renewable institutional scholarship)
*First place in local Rotary Club Speech contest, Second place in regional round (Soph and Jun yrs)
- A few other minor, class specific awards</p>
<p>Note: My school is small, non-competitive (2 Ivy league students in 4 or 5 years) and public. It has limited course offerings, so my schedule might not look too rigorous. I’m positive I’ll have great teacher LORs (from an AP Calc teacher, Gifted studies teacher, and maybe AP history teacher) and essays shouldn’t be a problem, although I’m not so sure about my guidance counselor’s LOR.</p>
<p>I’m hoping to major/concentrate in Biology (ecology and evolutionary biology) with a possible double major/minor in linguistics. Please, take a look at everything and give me your best guess and advice. Thank you so much to anyone who replies, it is greatly appreciated.</p>
<p>You should certainly be in the running. Don’t worry too much about how many students your high school has sent to the Ivy League in recent years – my son got in and was the first student at his school in at least a half dozen years to do so.</p>
<p>Get some significant leadership role in your community service work before you apply. It’s not how many hours you log, but rather the innovations you create and the impact you make that may potentially impress the admissions committee. So focus on the one that will give you a chance to make a difference – or create your own.</p>
<p>You look like a good applicant; however, if your school hasn’t sent many students to Ivys it would be a concern. If you love Brown, apply early!</p>
<p>Thanks for the advice! I’ve had a hard time finding community service leadership roles because a lot of the things I do are once and done in nature (ex. trip to costa rica, once annual fifth grade environmental camp). Does it hurt to have these sorts of volunteer experiences rather than more regular, weekly ones? I love the things I am involved with, and I dont plan to change them, but I am curious. Once, again thank you. Any additional feedback would be great!</p>
<p>Think about Loren’s comments about leadership- it’ not being prez of a hs club or a member, it’s the substance in your efforts, having impact. Going beyond what the hs offers, after the bell rings. With an interest in ecology and evolutionary biology, you should show something you’ve done that backs that up. The problem with a CR trip is it’s something someone else planned, you paid to go. Lots of kids do the CR trip and, though this may not apply for you, we’ve heard it is as much a fun trip as service. Very different than starting something grassroots. Or joining a local org and, over time, either rising in responsibility or creating your own unique role. And yes, you should show commitment over time. </p>
<p>Other than that, your stats and hs level of activity are good. So, think about a way to shine.</p>
<p>I don’t know if I’ll be able to make this clear in a college app, but the Costa Rica trip wasn’t the nonrmal “book online through some tour company” deal. A friend and I contacted a grass roots group in rural costa rica. Their whole conservation effort is local, in partnership with Costa Rica’s coast guard. They don’t do planned trips or anything like that - we had to navigate Costa Rica’s (rather confusing) public bus system to get there. We roomed with a local family and basically made our own agenda. We also brought an old laptop with us to donate - increasing the group’s total number of computers to 2. I know its not the same level as commitment as starting a local charity or dedicating hundreds of hours to a group week after week, but it definitely was not the normal prepackaged volunteer vacation. Will that count for anything? Is it worth writing about and explaining?</p>
<p>First, I somehow missed the job, state park and Green Party idea- sorry, they are all good. There must be some responsibiltiies that you can point to that make those more than the usual “went and came home.” A school year job, while keeping high stats, is also good. The CR trip, as you now describe it, seems like it’s own form of leadership, may make an intersting essay. (Make it genuine.) But, there’s another point in here, maybe most valid: just listing isn’t the same as somehow showing that extra oomph. If you haven’t seen the common app yet (and any supps,) go pull last year’s now. Apply.</p>
<p>Well, you do sound like the adventurous type and that in itself is a big plus for Brown: because of its Open Curriculum, Brown favors those who can create their own unique path without a lot of handholding.</p>
<p>Clearly you’ve had an environmental theme running throughout your life for the last few years. Do you want to give yourself a big edge in getting into Brown? Then tie all that environmental experience together into a grand unifying theme and start your own nonprofit operation.</p>
<p>It doesn’t have to be anything earth-shattering. Just look around for an unmet need and fill it. Maybe it’s environmental education? Get free space in a church basement once a month and give a seminar / slideshow / PowerPoint presentation. Entertain and inform your crowd, get a few to volunteer for trail maintenance at the state parks; get others to donate to that little operation in Costa Rica. Make some flyers, post them everywhere, get a few friends involved, do something! Starting something from scratch is hard – I guarantee you that writing about the challenges and successes of doing so will result in a great essay that’s uniquely you.</p>
<p>Or maybe there is an environmental project that just needs a leader or champion? A critical ecosystem that needs help? A legislative item that needs awareness raised? Or think thing along the lines of “Eagle Scout projects”. You live in PA so you may live in a Chesapeake Bay Watershed area. (See Chesapeake Bay Foundation for lots of great info). You have plenty of time still this summer to lay down some time and effort for something that can continue on through fall (and beyond). Find something that grabs your interest and go for it! I would highly recommend this to anyone your age, even if you had no plans to go on to college!</p>
<p>Are you planning to apply ED? If your family is comfortable with the projected cost of attending based on the net calculator, then you sound like you are passionate for Brown and should apply ED. </p>
<p>If financially you cannot commit, apply RD and throw in a few schools that give merit. </p>
<p>I agree with the others that you are an excellent candidate, but you need to focus on your leadership skills. I am sure within your job there is something you are responsible for that you can highlight within your application.</p>
<p>Thanks again for the comments. At this point I’m almost certain I’ll be applying RD. I’m just not committed enough, plus not sure I could afford it… The advice has been really helpful, and I will definitely be looking to bolster my leadership roles. Would anyone go ahead and hazard a percentage as far as my chances? I know its far from an exact science, but everyone who has commented so far seems very knowledgeable…maybe give chances “as is” and then also what they might be assuming I work hard to have a stronger background in leadership? Thanks to anyone who is brave enough to throw out a number!</p>
<p>For financial aid at Brown they provide substantial need-based aid up to $180k family income . . . see their financial aid examples on their web site</p>
<p>As far as being able to “hazard a percentage” . . . here you go </p>
<ul>
<li> Brown said no to 81% of the Valedictorians and 86% of the Salutatorians who applied</li>
<li> Brown said no to 81% of applicants who had an 800 CR and 83% of those with an 800 Math</li>
<li> Of those with a CR of 750-790, 85% were denied</li>
<li> Of those with a Math of 750-790,87% were denied</li>
</ul>
<p>The issue is that your stats fit with both accepted and rejected students at Brown.</p>
<p>In other words, for Brown and the other most competitive schools (which are not necessarily the best schools for you, because that depends on a lot of other factors) it’s a tossup for almost anyone who applies</p>
<p>Go For It . . . but know that it is a stretch for almost everyone.</p>
<p>I’m not finding that “up to 180k” figure- or examples. Harvard used to be up to 180k, but I thought they lowered it to 160. </p>
<p>“As is” isn’t easy- the app itself counts heavily at all the Ivies- all the places where you answer questions and portray youself, incl the essays. You don’t know how LoRs will come through. The competition is fierce, many able to show leadership and plenty of hard work (research, internships, etc,) plus a real sense of excitement about their interests and a real knowledge of how they fit Brown and it fits them. Frankly, if you pump it up, you’ll still face the “Harvard” thing that, in the final decisions, they easily have 3x the great candidates as spots available. Then, things like geographic diversity count, the kid likely to fill that open seat in the orchestra, etc.</p>
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</p>
<p>Wow, is that ever the wrong question to ask! – it’s like asking a job interviewer, “What is the minimum amount of work I can do here and still not get fired?”</p>
<p>I’ll venture a guess and then explain my reasoning:</p>
<ul>
<li>“As is”: 10-20% chance of acceptance.</li>
<li>With a major leadership role and a hint in your application that you might have done so to impress the adcoms: 5-10% chance of acceptance.</li>
<li>With a major leadership role and a passion for having done the right thing hinted in your application: 70-80% chance of acceptance.</li>
</ul>
<p>Your credentials “as is” are strong enough to make the first cut, so you will likely find yourself among the final 25-30% of the candidates. Now what? At this point you, on paper, look pretty much like everyone else remaining. Now you need an advocate on the committee to stand up for you, and your advocate only has a few seconds to make your case. What will she focus on? There has to be something rare and compelling about you that she can focus on. Your deep passion acted upon and forcefully expressed would be your hook and a reason your advocate can become passionate about fighting for you.</p>
<p>At this level of competition, it’s not a matter of getting eliminated for a shortcoming, but rather a matter of getting picked for a unique strength. The others end up in the maybe pile and the maybe pile becomes the “almost but no cigar” pile the vast majority of the time.</p>
<p>You don’t get in by collecting quarter-points in a dozen areas. You get in when someone tags you lovingly with a name like “ecology guy from rural PA.” And you will be shocked the first time someone from the admissions committee asks your name at a gathering and immediately knows where you’re from and what the highlights of your college app were.</p>
<p>^^<strong>like</strong></p>
<p>First of all, that is a pretty bad analogy… a better one might be anonymously asking people on an online forum what the minimum amount of work is that I can do and not get fired. Haha…But actually, I’m sorry, I guess that question was a lot more selfish sounding than it was meant to be. Let me rephrase myself: “Assuming I don’t change my activities in any way, because I love the things I do, the causes I support and the interests I have, and have no intention of changing them just to impress adcoms, what are my chances? Maybe give chances based on the assumption that I continue to work hard behind the scenes and without leadership roles (“as is”) and also given that I happen to assume more leadership as a natural part of the way I already live my life, without any intention of impressing anyone”. That’s more of what I meant. Believe me, if I lived my life trying to impress adcoms I wouldn’t be “collecting quarter points in a dozen areas”. I do that because I am passionate about every single one of those dozen areas</p>
<p>I will not necessary about leadership. My son had zero leadership, but he had very strong list of awards in Math, Science and Computer Science. Wrote his essays about his internship at a research lab where he had to learn multiple languages for his project. I think they liked that as it was “different” and he received couple of letters directly from the CS department once he was admitted but did not commit yet. So leadership: not necessarily. Something different: yes.</p>
<p>You don’t have to consciously try to "impress adcoms.’ You have to be the sort of kid who, quite naturally, as a result of his interest, commitment and energy, did hold responsibilities and show leadership in ways that matter to them. It’s a myth that top adcoms just want to see you are “passionate.” The need to see how you took some driving interests and some sense of the need out there and did something of value. </p>
<p>All we can tell you is whether we think you have a resonable and logical shot- and you do, if you make a solid self presentation in the app. (Here we are, giving thoughts- and even we don’t have a sense of your impact, beyond Costa Rica,) When someone says, the competition is fierce, it means the kids who settle for a few hs clubs, x comm service hours, maybe one centerpiece activity, great stats and some awards…sure they may make it to the final round, but be expendible, in light of the accomplishments of the others.</p>
<p>Lorem said someone has to go to bat for you- secret tip: that first person has to be you.</p>
<p>Cyclist, I think you mean he had few hs leadership titles- I think his commitment, the internship and taking on the challenge of the languages, are a form of leadership that counts. I’d guess his LoRs noted academic and peer leadership.</p>